


When Pretty Boy Met Pretty Little Lady

by okayspencer (orphan_account)



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Drug Addiction, Eating Disorders, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Love Confessions, Panic Attacks, Past Rape/Non-con, Romance, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24003736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/okayspencer
Summary: You have just arrived at the BAU, fresh out of university with a doctorate in psychology, at the ripe old age of 22. America is not quite what you initially expected and the weather isn't the only thing that is different from what you are accustomed to in England. But the BAU team welcomes you as their own, no questions asked. Yet, you find yourself wanting more out of the friendship that you share with the one and only, Dr. Spencer Reid.(This is set after some major events in season 5, but the character's ages are that of season 3 in 2007 I'm sorry for the timeline confusion, I got a little confused with some of the dates regarding Haley's death.)
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Reader, Spencer Reid/You
Comments: 19
Kudos: 122





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This is my first fanfiction so I apologise for how badly this is probably written, but hopefully I can improve lmao.  
> I hope you all enjoy and please leave any feedback in the comments below :))  
> *as some of you may come to notice, I will be playing around with the formatting on this chapter to figure out which style I like best, so don't be alarmed. but dont worry! there will be a consistent format by chapter 3!*

“Are you okay?” The raven-haired woman to your right, furrowed her eyebrows in concern.

“Yes and no,” you admitted. “I am really excited for this opportunity but at the same time, I am practically minutes away from a nervous breakdown.” Reflexively, you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“Well don’t worry, I am sure you will be completely fine.” She spoke with an air of confidence, convincing you that you had nothing to be nervous about.

You respond with a nervous chuckle and after five floors, the kind woman leaves you to mope alone in the cold elevator, going back to feeling apprehensive.  
You turn around to face the mirror speckled with dust and you ensure that your hair isn’t sat atop of your head like a disheveled mop. But before you could make any minor but necessary adjustments, a tall and classically handsome man enters the elevator with a bright, toothy smile.

“Well hello, pretty little lady. Who are you? Not to be rude but I haven’t exactly seen you here before.” At least this man was polite.

“New and very anxious.” Your words, practically dripping with sarcasm.

“Nice to meet you, ‘new and very anxious’, I am Derek Morgan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Derek.”

You stretch your hand out in the most professional way possible to insert a sliver of trust and to make Derek feel more at ease, and to your merit, Derek accepted the handshake with joy. 

After a long stretch of comfortable silence, you gather the courage to ask Derek where you could find Aaron Hotchner.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find SSA Hotchner, would you?”

“You are in luck little lady, because Hotch’s office is on the 15th floor and happens to reside right next to my desk,” he proudly stated.

“You work in the Behavioural Analysis Unit?”

“Yes babydoll, I am more than just a pretty face. But what do you need Hotch for?”

“Well, I am actually the new recruit.”

Giggling nervously, you look up to see that Derek’s face is plastered in what could only be described as ‘pleasantly surprised’.

“Aren’t you like at least 19?”

“22 actually. I ended up graduating secondary school when I was 14, studied forensic criminology for three years, I then went on to earn a doctorate in psychology, and now I am here! I am so excited to work in the BAU, even though I am definitely out of my comfort zone considering I am approximately 3,806 miles away from my little family home in England, but I am willing to make it all work and now I will stop rambling for the sake of your ears.” Out of embarrassment, you looked down at the dirty floor and felt yourself slowly shrink.

“Well I can’t wait to work with you princess, and don’t worry because pretty boy is 26, he also likes to ramble, he is practically a kid genius, and he also joined the BAU when he was 22, so you won’t be alone in the young, smart, and talkative department. However, I can say with confidence, that you are definitely not equals in height, because you are one of the tiniest people I have ever met. No offence kiddo.” You looked up at him and a smile tugged at your lips. If only everyone was as nice as he was being.  
You also noted that Derek smiled in fondness at the mention of this ‘pretty boy’, and you decided that you would probably like him, because you trusted Derek’s judgement. And anyways, he sounds cute.

“None taken. I am well aware of my unbecoming height, but I like being 5’3, I can sneak in and out of places without being noticed and that is very handy when you are just as socially awkward as someone like me. By the way, my name is Dr. Y/N Y/L/N, so you don’t have to call me stuff like ‘princess’ 24/7.”

“What a pretty name for such a pretty little lady, but I am afraid that nicknames are my specialty, so I can guarantee that me calling you ‘princess’ will become a common occurrence.”

With a knowing grin, Derek lead us out of the elevator once we reached the 15th floor, and into the bullpen were four strangers turned to stare at you.

“Hotch’s office is the first one on the left, princess! I will talk to you soon.”

You made your way up to the polished office, with four sets of eyes following your every move and with a hesitant knock, you opened the heavy door.

"Aaron Hotchner?" You asked meekly.

Looking up from a mountain of paperwork, a man with seemingly strict features, had softened into a gentle smile upon recognising your face.

"Agent Y/L/N! Or do you prefer Doctor? Whatever the case, it's a pleasure to see you again,” moving a couple files to his right, Aaron glanced at the clock behind you. “How was the flight over?" 

“Exhausting, boring, and too long. And either or is perfectly fine."

Hotch let out a low chuckle and gestured for you to sit on the leather chair.

"I have all of the paperwork regarding your new position here at the BAU, and I am sure you will grow to love everyone on the team.”

“Thank you sir. I have no doubts that I will. I just hope that they will like me.”

“Y/N, they will, don’t worry. Anyways, I think it is fine time to meet the team because from what I can see, they don’t seem to be doing a great job of hiding their curiosity for a load of profilers.”

As you exit Hotch’s office, you meet the gaze of four curious faces, along with the unmistakable face of Derek Morgan of course. But one of which immediately caught your attention. The slim man held your stare with a pair of soft brown eyes that looked at you quizzically, almost obscured by his scruffy locks of curly hair. He wore a lilac shirt accompanied by a grey vest and sported a pair of classic black converses. It was at that very moment that you decided that he was definitely more handsome than Derek. A face you wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

You successfully made the stride down to the bullpen without embarrassing yourself, and you finally came face to face with your new team members.

“Y/N, these are Agents Derek Morgan, David Rossi, Jennifer Jareau, Dr. Spencer Reid, and our technical analyst Penelope Garcia. But I am not quite sure where Agent Emily Prentiss is at this moment.” You scanned the room with care, taking in all these new but lovely faces. 

To Derek’s left, an older Italian man stood proudly, offering you a kind grin; this was David Rossi, the renowned Agent who helped found the BAU. Leaning beside him was Jennifer. You immediately recognised an aura of importance that she seemed to carry with ease and by her shoulder stood Dr. Spencer Reid. The man you deemed to be extremely lucky in the looks department and he even had great style, but he looked so young in comparison to the others. Maybe he’s friends with pretty boy! They seem to be of the same age and even height. But before you could get off on a tangent, you registered the comforting face of the technical analyst. Penelope was much more defined in terms of clothing compared to the rest of them. She wore a bright canary blue dress that naturally hugged her curves and she matched the colourful clothing with such an energy that radiated innocence and overall goodness.

“It is very nice to meet you all, I am Dr. Y/N Y/L/N and I simply cannot wait to work with you guys.”

Suddenly, the same raven-haired woman you spoke to earlier, came running into the bullpen.

“I am so sorry that I am late Hotch, I had to go see Strauss about the case last we-“

Interrupting her explanation, Rossi coughed dramatically and nodded in your direction.

“Oh, it’s you! Nervous British girl from the elevator. What are you doing here?”

Before you could formally introduce yourself, Derek interjected.

“Emily, meet Dr. Y/N Y/L/N and she is the newest member of the team. Pretty little lady, this is Emily Prentiss,” nodding in recognition.

For some reason unbeknownst to you, Spencer began to blush and even shot a glare at Derek.  
How could someone look so cute when trying to look so angry?

“It’s nice to meet you Y/N and not to be rude but how old are you? You look so young.”

“I am 22,” you stated contentedly.

“Wow. How did you even get to work here?”

“Well I graduated high school at 14, studied forensic criminology for three years, and finally earned my doctorate in psychology 7 months ago. I decided that I wanted to become a profiler, because it would mean that I could help people in need everyday.”

“Reid, it looks like you have some competition,” giggling at this revelation, Emily faced Spencer.

Competition? Why would Reid have competi-  
COMPETITION. OH MY GOD. REID IS PRETTY BOY.

The room fell into an unbelievably awkward silence. Everyone stared at you wide eyed. Derek was fighting off the urge to laugh and Spencer was burning holes into his shoes from staring at them so intensely.

“Did I just say that out loud?”

“Yes pretty little girl, I am afraid you did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the shortness of this first chapter, but I promise that future chapters will be much longer and more interesting lol!


	2. Chapter 2

“So….anyone want a cup of coffee? No? Well, considering I am the only one here who wants coffee, I’ll be off.”

And with that, Rossi somehow excused himself from the deadly silence and left the room with the elegance of a dad.

“Wait! I do.” You made a beeline for the break room, following David to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere you created.

“Oh, hi kiddo.” 

“Hey David. Uh, do you mind if I sulk in here whilst everyone laughs at me outside.”

“You can call me Dave, Y/N and I doubt that they would make fun of you kiddo,” he stated with certainty. “But sure, make yourself comfortable.”

“Thanks.” 

Sheepishly, you hid behind a special edition of ‘pride and prejudice’, silently cursing at yourself for acting like an idiot on the first day.  
Way to go at first impressions Y/N!

The fresh smell of a Latte filled the air and you couldn’t resist the urge to ask for one. But to your pleasant surprise, Dave had already made you one.

“Something told me that you were a Latte girl.” Rossi flashed you a smile and handed you a piping hot cup filled with liquid gold.

“Thank you, that’s really kind.”

“Here, we like to take care of our own.”

David winked at you playfully and you sent a grateful grin in return, only to find that you were no longer alone in the room when Derek entered unannounced.

“Hey gorgeous, can I borrow you for a minute?”

You gave a quick nod to Derek and Rossi left the room without another word.

“I messed up didn’t I? He probably hates me and the rest of the team probably think I am a weirdo.”

“Not at all sweetness. I laughed it off and explained to Reid that I had already mentioned him to you in the elevator. So there is nothing to worry about. Spencer definitely doesn’t think you’re crazy or anything, okay? No one does. Pen and I did have a little giggle though,” he admitted.

“Ha Ha, very funny Morgan.”

“In our defence,” Derek raised his hands as if he were at gun-point, “we were only laughing because of the reaction we got outta Spence.”

“What reaction?”

Speaking of the handsome devil, Spencer entered the room and shuffled over to where you and Derek sat, glancing at you both with wonder.

“Nothing pretty boy.” Morgan lied gracefully, “I was just telling Y/N here that we have a new case, and we need to get our asses over to the conference room.”

With one swift movement, Morgan got up and picked up your Latte for you, gesturing for you all to leave for the meeting. You graciously took the mug from Derek and you reflexively reached over to grab your book, but you seemed to brush atop Spencer’s hand rather than your leather-bound copy of ‘pride and prejudice’.  
As if you had come into contact with a live electric wire, you instinctively jerked your hand away from the sudden shock.

“Sorry, I was just admiring the cover. This is the 200th anniversary special edition of Jane Austen’s most well known work. Jane Austen herself inspired thousands of women and even advocated the empowerment of females among society and she went on to-“

“Okay kid, I think princess here gets the idea, no need to inform her of the entire history regarding Jane Austen.”

“Oh sorry…”

“No! Don’t be sorry, I was actually pretty interested in what you had to say. I love learning random facts about anything and anyone.”

You assured Reid about your genuine interest in what he had to say and you received a surprised look in return. Did no one usually listen to him? That would be absurd. Who wouldn’t want Spencer to tell you random facts? 

Derek sighed in defeat.

“Right, okay lovebirds, we have a new case to profile.”

Spencer stared daggers at Derek like a brother would and you shrugged off the comment in attempts to hide your growing blush.

“No point in standing around then boys, it looks like we have work to do.”

* * *

Waddling along in her heels, Penelope faced the TV screen.

“Okay folks, today we have a classic case of stabbings and the removal of organs from 2 prostitutes, South of Ohio.” With a sarcastic and deflated ‘yippee’, Garcia flopped back into her chair disgusted by the photos of the victims on the screen.

“Jennifer, could you pass me a file please?”

“Yeah, of course. And you can call me JJ, Y/N.”

You nodded at JJ with a smile teasing at your lips, and suddenly you recognised something strange about the pictures, it looked all too familiar.

“Is it just me, or does anyone else think that this kinda looks like the work of Jack the Ripper, I mean it obviously couldn’t be because the dude has been dead for a solid 200 years, but something about these pictures just irks me.” You shivered at the sight of the poor women who lay limp in the alley.

“Don’t sell yourself short Y/N, I think you are on to something. This could very well be the work of a copycat. Well done, that information will prove vital later on in the case.”

You beamed proudly back at Hotch, whilst Rossi nodded in agreement and Derek gave you a sly thumbs up.

“Did you know that Jack the Rip-“

“Reid. Please don’t. Without my morning Latte, I don’t think my brain can comprehend your little facts, especially after already being reprimanded by Strauss. My patience is practically a sliver of ice right now.”

Looking dejected, Spencer shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“Here Emily, you can have mine. I haven’t touched it yet. Spencer, would you mind telling me later? I would love to know what you had to say about Jack the Ripper!” You slid the Latte across the smooth table to Emily who stared at you wide eyed and beyond happy. You also noticed Derek and Penelope sharing a mockingly sappy expression while JJ failed to repress a snort.

Once Penelope and JJ finished up on explaining the rest of the case, everyone began to disband when Hotch said “Wheels up in 50!” So you approached Spencer before he could leave, excited to hear what he had to say.

“So, what was it?”

He looked at you utterly confused, trying to decipher what you meant.

“What was what?” Spencer tilted his head like a puppy, seeing if he could understand you better from a different angle.

“The fact. About Jack the Ripper.”

“You actually wanted to know?”

“Of course!” Your speech laced with assurance. “I can just tell that anything you have to say is going to be interesting.” 

“Oh, okay. Uh thanks Y/N. I was only going to say that the Canonical Five were the famous victims of Jack the Ripper and it was actually speculated that the grandson of the Queen was responsible for the serial killings. His true identity is still a mystery to hundreds of historians around the world!”

“Wow, I never knew that they were called the Canonical Five and who would’ve thought that literal royalty could have committed those crimes! I feel like I am a disappointment to England for lacking that information. Thank you for telling me, I knew you wouldn’t disappoint.”

Reid began to nervously laugh and from what you could tell, he seemed to have started blushing. It is quite warm in this room, so your not surprised.

After your little encounter with Reid, you head over to Hotch’s office just to make sure that you weren’t missing anything important for the case.

“Hey Hotch, I was just wondering if I needed anything for the trip to Ohio. How long will we be staying?”

“I am so sorry Y/N, but it slipped my mind. You will need a go-bag with you or at your desk at all times for when we have cases that aren’t based here in Quantico because we never really know how long we will be staying.”

“Oh. Right okay, my hotel isn’t too far from here so would it be alright if I got one prepared now?”

“Of course, why don’t you take someone with you. Considering you have never been to the airbase where the jet is, one of the agents can take you there with them.”

“Great idea, thanks Hotch.” you contorted your face into a shy and confused grimace as you left Hotch's office.

But who would want to go with you?  
Penelope? Nope, you’re pretty sure that you remember her saying that she stays here in Virginia most of the time.  
Spencer? That’s an instant no, you are definitely not prepared enough to keep a conversation going for more than 10 minutes without getting flustered.  
JJ? Nah, she probably has more important things to do.  
How about Derek-

“Y/N? Do you need something? You look frustrated.”

“I kinda need someone to go with me to my hotel so I can prepare a go-bag, but I don’t know where the airbase is so Hotch recommended that I-“

“Say no more, I understand and I owe you. Haven’t you heard? When someone gives you coffee, you give them a car ride to wherever they need to go. It’s basic manners. Now come on Dr. Y/L/N, we only have a solid 30 minutes.”

“Thank you Emily, I really appreciate this.”

Just as the two of you were ready to leave, Morgan strolled up to you guys stopping you in your tracks.

“Where are you two lovely ladies off to? We don’t have to be at the airbase just yet.”

“Y/N wasn’t told to prepare a go-bag so I volunteered to drive her to her place and then down to the airbase.”

“Mind if I tag along? Just a little road-trip for the three of us.” Derek looked at you expectantly, awaiting your permission.

“Not at all, you have to sit in the back though. If I don’t sit in the front, I will get really sick so I call shot gun.”

* * *

Derek shut the car door and propped his slim sunglasses onto his head.

“Why are we at a hotel?”

“Because, Derek, I only arrived in Virginia yesterday evening and I haven’t exactly found any available apartments near the BAU. So, I have to make-do here.”

“Ahhhh, that makes sense. Well I can always help with that if you like?”

“Help?” Confused by Derek’s proposal, you encouraged him to continue with a nod.

“Yeah, I dabble in property ownership and I am sure I could find you a decent apartment near the BAU.”

“Really?! Oh my god Derek that would be amazing. Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?”

“Anything for my favourite British gal.”

You hugged Derek in pure glee, which he was happy to return.  
It was weird. You felt so comfortable with him, but you had only met Derek this morning. It’s scary how well aquatinted you can feel with someone in such a short amount of time.

“Come on guys let’s go to my room.”

Prentiss and Morgan followed you instinctively, and it almost felt like they were protecting you. You felt welcome and safe. Something you hadn’t felt in a long time.  
Opening your door with a flimsy keycard, you said “Ladies first” to which Derek took to heart and went as far as pushing Emily to the side. Emily playfully punched his shoulder in retaliation and insisted you go in first.

“So, I won’t be no more than 10 minutes. Em? I mean Emily. Would you mind helping me? It might speed up the process.

“Sure, and Em is fine Y/N. All my friends call me that.” Your heart warmed at the sentiment, and your smile practically reached your ears.

“Angel face, I have a proposition for you. Every time you pack a piece of clothing, you have to answer a question about yourself.”

“Okay…but don’t I get to ask you guys any questions?”

“Save them for the plane ride Doc.”

“Fine, but how much do I even pack?”

“Uh, I packed five days worth of clothes, so go with that.”

“Cool, now I guess you can ask me anything you want to know.”

Packing your go-bag was much more enjoyable than you ever thought it could be. But when you were accompanied by Derek and Emily, you knew nothing could go wrong.  
Morgan politely asked about your family, to which you responded, “I have no siblings and my parents died when I was 19. They both caught terrible cases of Malaria whilst treating patients in the Philippines. They died saving lives. I only aspire to be as brave and selfless as them.”  
Derek had regretted his question and even apologised for asking, but you assured him that you were okay with talking about them.  
Emily tried to lighten the conversation by asking if you had a hot British boyfriend and you replied, “Afraid not. I am extremely single.”

“Okay, but what are your hobbies?”

“I love to read, bake cookies, and I like to swim!”

“Reid better watch out, because you are the whole package pretty little lady. A brainy Brit who likes to bake, read, and swim. I am pretty sure I just described his perfect woman.”  
Emily snorted at Derek’s remark and you simply turned to face your clothes, because you could not let them see the devilish shade of red you had procured on your cheeks.

“Two questions left guys, ask wisely.”

“Favourite colour?”

“Seriously Em?” Shooting her a skeptical look.

“Seriously. That is one of the most important and sacred questions you could ever ask another human being.”

“Purple.”

“What a fine choice. As Spencer would say, purple promotes intelligence and it shows that you are a very compassionate and supportive person.”

“I like to think so.”

“What’s your type?”

“Wow Derek,” folding a blazer, you sighed, “that’s one way to shoot your shot.”

“Very funny doc. But seriously? What do you look for in a guy?”

“My ideal boyfriend would have to be intelligent, well versed when it comes to books and movies, understanding, and he has to be funny.” Without saying anything, Prentiss and Morgan shared a mutual, knowing look with each other, only to face you with grins plastered on their faces.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Respectively, they both said, “Nothing.” in the most innocent voices they could muster.

“Well princess, it looks like its time for us to head out. We can’t be missing our flight can we?”

* * *

You flushed the toilet in disgust and turned to the mirror. Dear god you looked incredibly pale.  
You exited the bathroom quietly and walked over to JJ and Rossi. You felt as if you had just experienced the walk of shame, but JJ reassured you that everyone understood.  
Catching you off guard, Spencer had stumbled over to were you sat and even laid his hand upon your forehead.

“Are you okay Y/N? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah, yeah I am completely fine. Nothing to worry about. I highly doubt I have the Flu. Just a little travel sickness is all. It’s probably only hitting me harder because jet’s are faster than standard planes.”

Spencer didn’t look all too convinced but ruled out the possibility of you having a bug, because you didn’t seem to have an alarming temperature.

“If you get travel sick, then it is in your best interest to sit next to me. Morgan can move next to Hotch and you can have the best seat on the jet. Technically speaking it isn’t the best seat, but it would be for you considering your susceptibility to feeling nauseous, because that seat experiences the least amount of turbulence and is next to the window. There have been many reports of people feeling less ill when sat next to the window because it allows them to concentrate on the horizon and that tricks their brain into thinking they aren’t in a moving Aircraft.”

“Oh okay. Sure. Thank you Spence.”

You slowly followed Reid over to Morgan’s old space, and you lowered yourself carefully onto the seat to avoid anymore potential nausea from moving too fast. Spencer smiled at you innocently and went back to his reading. How some people could read inside moving vehicles was beyond you, admittedly, the idea of it made you feel a little queasy.  
You stared out of the window, admiring the gorgeous view. Then a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over you, tempting you to fall asleep. The temptation became so over-bearing, that you simply couldn’t keep it at bay any longer, so you allowed yourself to fall into slumber, lolling your head and finally settling it onto a soft surface.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, this is a lot longer than the first two! Expect the rest of the chapters to be this length :)

“Pretty little girl…it’s time to wake up. Come on kiddo, I know you’re comfy but we have people to save.”

Your eyes fluttered open, attempting to drink in the sights in front of you.

“Where am I?” You rubbed your eyes to relieve yourself of any sleep residue, “Derek? Is that you? Where’s everyone else?”

As your eyes tried to adjust, you remembered that you needed your glasses.  
But for some peculiar reason, it looked like Derek was wearing them and they were no longer resting on your head.

“Princess, you are super blind. Like, Penelope blind. And everyone else left for the station. I got tasked with awaking sleeping beauty.”

“I am not blind. My eyes just have a hard time focusing. Now, please give them back to me…” you yawned, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to move away from the warmth beside you, “everything’s a little blurry right now. I don’t feel like having a headache today. So alas, pass over the glasses you thief.”

“Only if you get off of Spencer.”

Spencer? Hadn’t everyone already left?

Mindfully, you lifted your head. To your shock, it was indeed Spencer you were using as a pillow.

“Shit, sorry Spence. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. Did I sleep talk?” You shuffled to your left, trying to distance yourself from him out of embarrassment.

“It’s okay, Y/N. To be honest, I didn’t mind all that much,” he laid his book down and turned to face you. “You did however initiate 3 conversations in your sleep. 22 minutes and 37 seconds ago, you asked me to read to you and then you called me Sherlock before nodding off again. It was quite funny actually. Don’t you remember?”

“Nope. But everyone has always told me about the times I have spoken in my sleep. It’s weird really. I still don’t know how I do it.”

“Sleep talking usually occurs when someone is enduring a nightmare. When someone is in between the states of REM sleep and being conscious, they can gain the ability to speak and later wake up with no memory of it even happening.”

“Oh.”

To say the least, you weren’t too pleased with the explanation because it meant that the nightmares were back.

You leaned closer to Reid and whispered in his ear, “Did I mention anything about the man in red?”

The thought of him made you nauseous. He was terrifying. He was the first monster you came across in real life. A person you thought you could trust.

Spencer looked at you with genuine concern and nodded.

“You cried half an hour ago, pleading for ‘him’ to leave you alone. Derek, Hotch, and I tried to wake you up. You sat up, stared at me, then you nuzzled back into my shoulder as if nothing happened. You were pretty quiet though so now one else on the plane heard you. We decided not to mention it to the rest of the team, in case it was too personal. But we were really worried about you.”

“Yeah, kiddo.” Derek gently placed your glasses back onto your face, “You even scared Hotch.”

“Really? I’m sorry. I don’t know why he’s back, I haven’t had that nightmare in a while. Don’t worry about me though, I’ll be fine.”

You tried to clear the tension with a little giggle and you apprehensively offered Derek and Spencer a meek smile.  
They didn’t look incredibly convinced, but they decided not to press on it.

* * *

Arriving at the station, you saw Emily kicking a vending machine with the aggression of a five-year old girl.

“What happened Prentiss? Did the machine punch you or something.”

“No, it was classier than that Derek. It took my dollar and left me longing for a stupid bar of chocolate.”

“If endorphins are what you’re really craving, chew some gum. Here,” you passed Emily the tub of watermelon gum, “Chewing gum releases serotonin and they are pretty similar to endorphins. It also releases dopamine to help you concentrate. I chew gum out of habit because it makes me feel more at ease.”

“Y/N, you are a literal lifesaver. Thank you.”

Truthfully, you were just happy you could put a smile on her face.

“Muscles? Genius? Want some?”

“Why thank you angel.” Morgan smiled at you and chewed the melon gum appreciatively.

“Sure, why not. Thanks Doctor. Y/L/N.” 

“Please give me a nickname Spence, you too Em.” 

“A nickname?” Reid looked utterly puzzled and Emily just shook her head in disappointment.

From what you could tell, Derek shared the exact same expression as Emily, and it simply said ‘this kid sure is dumb for a genius’.

“Yes a nickname Sherlock. It feels all too formal with you calling me Doctor and Agent Y/L/N all the time.”

“Okay…how about short stuff?” This earned a sigh from Morgan, but you thought it was cute all the same. 

“Seriously kid?”

“It’s not like Spencer doesn’t have a point. I am vertically challenged.”

“If we’re being exact, I am 6’1 and Y/N is 5’4 at best. So, I have at least 25.3cm on you.”

“To make up for Reid’s lack of creativity, I have decided on Mrs. Sherlock.”

Within an instant, you felt yourself flush furiously, and Spencer matched your flustered complexion.

To abandon the awkwardness, you held out your hand, offering a couple pieces of watermelon gum to Spence.  
Next thing you know, they vanish from your very palm.

“Uh-“

At the snap of Spencer’s fingers, one piece of gum returned to your hand.

“So you’re a magician now?” You tried to sound as neutral as possible but you simply couldn’t hide the childish grin that was emerging on your face, “If you are so clever, then where’s the other piece Houdini?”

“Right here.” Spencer poked out his tongue to reveal a fresh piece of gum.

“God you lot are literal children,” Rossi walked over to Spencer, unfazed. “Quit playing with your food kiddo, we have an unsub to catch.”

* * *

The four of you walked into the police station, looking like you had just been told off by your father for stealing the last cookie, and Dave followed not far behind you all beaming innocently.

You immediately spotted Hotch and JJ in the break room, so you sauntered over to them, chewing your gum.

“Why can I suddenly smell an overwhelmingly strong scent of watermelon?”

You all simultaneously shrugged off the question, leaving Hotch even more confused.

“Well, whatever it is, it can wait. The sheriff just received a letter from an anonymous sender with a clear account of the murders. So, I need Reid to try and put together a linguistic profile and see if there is anything in the letter than can reveal something about our unsub. Rossi and Y/L/N, I need you two to go down to the morgue and see if there is anything that suggests a clear motive. Morgan and Prentiss, go down to the club that the women worked at. Look for any security footage or potential witnesses. Y/N I want you to assist Spencer with the linguistics once you get back from the morgue with Rossi, and see if there any characteristic links between Jack the Ripper and our unsub, it could tell us if he is actually a copycat or if it’s simply coincidence. JJ and I will be here to take care of the press as per usual and we can deliver the final profile here at the station in 2 hours. Okay everyone, lets get to work.”

Without another word, you and the team left the break room to complete your orders.

* * *

“Morbid isn’t it?” You scanned the room repulsed, “How could anyone be surrounded by bodies all day, everyday?”

“Kid, we are surrounded by death wherever we go.”

“But that’s different to being engulfed by the smell of rotting people.”

Dave nodded in agreement, adjusting the latex glove over his expensive watch. “Touché.”

Rossi lead you over to the body of the first victim.

“Y/N, look at this. There aren’t any defensive wounds. There is only a fatal slash to the throat and one simple slit across the upper abdominal cavity, allowing him to remove the kidney with ease. The work here is meticulous. Not a single mistake on the unsub’s part. We also may be looking at a potential cannibal.”

After taking note of Rossi’s observation, you removed the thin cloth from the second victim’s face, revealing a broken jaw and gash across her cheek. You studied the defensive wounds that decorated her arms, telling you a story of struggle. A noticeable and deep indentation was also present at the back of the woman’s skull and several stabs to the abdomen suggested overkill.

“This was a messy blitz attack, and instead of stabbing her in the side like the Ripper, he hit her on the back of the head first.”

“Interesting, the unsub didn’t approach this victim the same way Jack the Ripper would have, however the body of the first tells a completely different story.”

“But that doesn’t make sense if the unsub is a copycat.”

Rossi continued to flail his hands in frustration, finally settling with squeezing his fingernails into his palms. “Maybe it’s a team. This unsub was hesitant, but when he was given the opportunity to use this woman as an outlet of his rage he took it. This is evident with the overkill. It also appears that the indentation was made with something hard like rock. A rock would be a weapon of opportunity, it shows no sign of planned intention. This suggests that this unsub acted purely on impulse and rage. If you look closely Y/N, you can see a few hesitation marks and there are at least 9 defensive wounds.”

“That would make a lot of sense considering that the first victim was dissected alive, with no trace of any hesitation marks, finished off with a slash across her throat. That indicates intelligence and efficiency, something the other unsub seems to lack. You would also have to have a decent amount of medical knowledge to know how to remove a kidney cleanly.”

“So we have one unsub with medical knowledge. He is most likely a sexual sadist considering that the kidney removal was anti-mortem, with potential cannibalistic behaviour. He is the dominant in the relationship, intelligent, merciless, manipulative and meticulous. Whereas the other unsub is submissive. He is driven purely by rage and hatred, whom he chooses to take out on the second victim. He’s messy, unexperienced, and aggressive, but acts like a hesitant opportunist.”

“Exactly, we have been looking at this all wrong and it’s my fault that we’re behind on the profile.”

“Not at all kid! You made a good suggestion, everyone thought the same thing. Coincidences like this happen more than you think. Come on kiddo, we should get back to the police station and you can see if Reid has made any revelations about the letter. We can inform Hotch about this in the car.”

* * *

Entering the building, you saw Spencer sat cross-legged on a desk in the bullpen, dragging his limber fingers across the text in front of him.

“Hey Sherlock, I have some news. Rossi and I figured out that we aren’t dealing with a copycat, but actually a team.”

“I came to a similar conclusion, but I have a differing theory. Come here shortie, I want to show you something.”

Obliging, you propped yourself up onto the smooth table, leaning your head forward. Spencer titled the letter, revealing underlined words and phrases, and neat annotations that were plastered allover the page. 

“In the letter, there is nothing remotely similar to any of Jack the Ripper’s writings. The dominant begins by debunking the first woman as ‘easy prey’ and ‘weak’. Those words imply that he is a power-hungry hunter, relentless. All the traits that make a merciless dominant personality. The submissive however, goes and describes the second victim as being a ’whore’, and ‘disgusting’.‘ That tells me that he has a deep-rooted hatred for sex workers. I doubt that these killings have anything to do with Jack the Ripper, but the unsubs could in fact admire him and his work, using those killings as inspiration.”

“You got all of that from just one letter?”

“Not just that. In actuality, the letter appears to be written by two different personalities. Not two separate people.”

“It could still be written by one person with the thoughts from the other included. How can you be sure?”

“Because the handwriting is the same throughout the entirety of the text, but shifts when the other personality takes over.”

“So what your saying is that the two unsubs have similar writing?”

“No, I am saying that it is the exact same and the only significant difference, is that one personality is left-handed.”

“All I am hearing is that they have similar handwriting Spence.”

“That’s the thing, Y/N. It isn’t similar. It is identical. Handwriting is unique to a person. Handwriting can indicate emotion and even reveal your personality. No one can really perfect someone’s handwriting because everyone spaces their words and letters differently, everyone puts different amounts of pressure on paper when they are writing. No handwriting is one in the same. So, if someone who suffers from Split personality disorder, has a personality that is left handed, they can still manifest that style perfectly.”

“So if it’s the same style, how can you tell that one is left handed?”

“Are you left or right handed?”

“That doesn’t answer my question. But for the sake of this, I’m a leftie.”

“Tell me how you write.”

“Uh, well I always have to lay my paper in an awkward position so I don’t smudge the ink which only gives it an ugly slope.”

“Exactly. Right handed people just write on the page without any hesitation or worry. You don’t have that pleasure because you have to be mindful when you write, so you take precautions. A left handed person has to follow their writing along without smudging any of it. This causes an evident slope in the writing. That is the indicator, because if you look at the first paragraph, you can see there isn’t a slope. The slope is only visible towards the end of that paragraph because that is when the other personality took over, and from what I can tell, it looks like the left handed personality is dominant. And I bet you anything that the victim who was killed by the more meticulous personality, sustained injuries inflicted by a leftie.”

“I still don’t understand how you could gather all that information from certain words and a sudden change in slope from the handwriting.”

“I am specialised in linguistic profiling short stuff.” 

“How are you naturally good at everything? It’s unfair.”

“Not everything. I am definitely not good at talking to girls.”

“What am I then? A foreign alien?”

“My friend.”

Taken aback, your cheeks began to warm. That was not the answer you were expecting.

“Why are you all so nice to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I have known you guys for at least 7 hours and every single one of you has treated me with respect, kindness, and concern.” Out of habit and heat, you tie your hair back and roll up your sleeves, “I just don’t understand why.”

“Because you are a part of the team now. This team is like a family. And its not like you’re a selfish and manipulative monster Y/N. You are intelligent, intuitive, polite, sweet, and you have a good sense of humour,” reflexively, you sighed and rolled your eyes in disbelief. “I’m not just saying that either.“

You granted a soft smile in response to Spencer’s kind words, hoping that would be enough. You didn’t exactly want to agree with him but he didn’t have to know that.

* * *

Nudging Derek, you whispered in his ear, “I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be. You have nothing to worry about princess.”

Morgan and Emily got back to the police station ten minutes ago, leading to Hotch informing everyone that the team was ready to give a solid profile. Aka, your first profile.

“But what if I mess up?”

“You won’t, just breathe kid.”

Inhaling, you sent an appreciative nod to Derek. 

Morgan smiled that toothy and encouraging smile, turning to Hotch, who began the profile.

“We have strong evidence to suspect that we only have one unsub on our hands who is suffering from a violent case of Split personality disorder, with no reason to believe that they are conducting these murders out of admiration for Jack the Ripper.”

Reid paced toward the whiteboard, gesturing at the two graphic photos of the victim.

“As you can see, there are two significant differences in the way these two women were killed. The dominant personality is incredibly meticulous with medical experience, but when the emotions of this unsub overwhelm him, the submissive takes over in a fit of rage and kills purely on impulse. We believe that our unsub has recently suffered an extreme degree of trauma to trigger this break within his mind.”

From afar, you admired the way that Emily instinctively took over from Spencer, and like clockwork, Rossi carried on from her. They were all so in sync that even their thoughts were organised in the same capacity. 

Suddenly, in the corner of your eye, you noticed how Derek looked at you expectantly. At that moment, you realised he was warning you that you were next.

On cue, as soon as Dave finished explaining that the unsub was on a mission, he levelled his eyes with you.

“We are positive that the unsub we are looking for is a medically trained professional. Although he is distant with the people he’s surrounded by, someone will know this man. In recent months or even weeks, our unsub has become erratic and more aggressive in his everyday life, and is desperately trying to repress that by releasing his anger on these women.”

After you delivered your part of the profile, you felt a sense of relief wash over you. 

Swiftly, Derek shifted next to you and whispered, “See princess, you did great.”

All at once, the phones in the station began to ring almost violently.

“What’s going on?”

The uniformed officer slammed the phone back into the receiver.

“There are two more bodies. Both are female but neither of them are sex workers, they’re both working class mothers.”

Emily was frustrated to say the least. “It hasn’t even been a day! Is this guy on some type of spree?” 

You shrugged your shoulders completely dumbstruck.

“I don’t know but something is wrong,” Addled, Spencer nimbly twirled a pen in his hand. “He killed in daylight, left witnesses, and the victimology has completely altered. None of this make sense.”

The room fell silent but you could practically hear the gears within Spencer’s mind turn with a means of understanding the unsub.

“What if he’s not in control anymore. Is it possible for the unsub to be completely unaware of what he’s doing?”

All eyes turned on you, considering your question thoughtfully.

“I mean it is possible. If the unsub was hypothetically suffering from a complete mental break, it could trigger the other personalities and give them more power.“

“Let me call Garcia, I think I can narrow down the suspect pool.”

Anticipating what you had to say, the team focused purely on you. You decided to speed dial Penelope and put her on speaker.

“Well hello chocolate thunder, what can I do for you today?” In Derek’s eyes, you could just see the internal face palm.

“Hi Penelope, sorry to disappoint but I am not muscly Morgan.”

“Fret not babyface, I would be more than pleased to help my favourite British girlie. What do you need?”

“I need you to search the system for doctor’s in the area who have recently been fired or suspended for something like aggravated assault. This guy would have let his mask slip recently.”

“I need some more parameters sweetness, there are three hospitals and eight clinics in your surrounding area.”

“Okay…could you possibly access any personal information about someone who has lost an immediate family member in the last couple weeks?”

“Legally? No, but for you, of course I can.”

“Thanks Penelope.”

“Sure thing…oh! I’ve got three hits. One lost their mother, numero dos lost their sister, and finally this guy lost his two brothers. Twins to be exact. Oh god-“

“What is it?”

“The twins were his older brothers but they weren’t the best role models.”

“What did they do?”

“They killed their abusive mother when they were nineteen but the case was waved off because apparently it was self defence. They continued to care for their younger brother until he hit 18. Ten years later, aka last week, the younger brother Joel Friar visited the twins for his birthday but no one was there. Upon leaving he heard screams, only to find a young woman locked up in the cellar. She said that she had been raped repeatedly and that there were others before her. Joel called the police and they found 12 other bodies buried in the backyard. When the twins got back to their place, they were both killed by police when they pulled their guns out. To say the least, Joel did not have a pleasant birthday.”

“Spencer, is it possible that Joel could have been so torn up about the loss of his brothers that his mind created the two personalities?”

“Very possible.” Spencer fell silent for a moment before continuing, “A year ago, we apprehended a man by the name of Tobias Hankle. He was systematically abused by his father and was brought up to be extremely religious. When Tobias’ father fell ill, he ordered his son to kill him. This sent Tobias into a religious spiral because killing is a sin but he had to ‘honour thy father’. After he killed Charles, his mind couldn’t cope with his death and fractured. He ended up with two more personalities, Charles and Raphael.” You noticed how Reid flinched uncomfortably at the sound of his name, “By having these personalities, Tobias could keep his father alive and come to terms with the moral conundrum at the expense of his own mind.”

Dave spoke up coming to a realisation, “In this case, Joel couldn’t handle their deaths or the truth about them being serial killers. If he was only exposed to abuse as a child, then any aggressive behaviour would’ve been normal to him. But he would never have thought they could kill so brutally and without reason. I’m guessing that to cope, Joel’s mind split and he eventually bore their sadistic personalities. This may have started off with them being the kind brother’s he grew up with, but the truth only forced those personalities to adapt and truly become the monster’s he saw in their last moments.“

“It is also possible that he doesn’t even know that he’s killed, and if the twins are in control, we may have no idea where to find him-“

Interrupting Reid, was a man barreling through the entrance smothered in blood.

“Someone please help me!”

He continued to plead erratically, whilst the team tried to wrap their heads around the sight in from of them.

“I think I found him Spencer.”

* * *

“He looks so…broken.”

With a deflated sigh you left the room miserable. You decided you couldn’t bear to watch this poor man break down in front of you for the fourth time.

“Hey, are you okay Y/N?”

Spencer had gripped your shoulder lightly, placing an ounce of pressure to let you know he was there. You turned to face him, avoiding eye contact.

“Yeah I’m fine.” 

“You know you can tell me, I won’t judge you.”

“I can’t let the team see me like this Spence. Can we go somewhere else please?” You finally built up the courage to look him in the eyes, pleading for some privacy.

He inclined his head and lead you into an empty interrogation room. You just hoped he wouldn’t interrogate you. 

Reid patiently waited for you to talk to him, and so you broke without the slightest prompt.

“I just…it pains me to think that there are so many of these people who commit these crimes, but could never really do anything about it in the first place. They are ill, in need of help. But what are you supposed to tell the families of the victims? I am so sorry your wife was killed, but the man simply couldn’t help it?”

“Unfortunately Y/N, it happens more than anyone of us would like, but it’s a part of the job.”

“I know, but I just can’t help but think what could’ve been done to prevent these murders.”

“It’s not what we could’ve done, it’s what we did. 94% of the time, we aren’t this lucky. It usually takes days until we catch the unsub but this one strolled in here. Now, I know what you are thinking but if he hadn’t come in here, the profile you helped create would have gone on to help countless others. Our profiles saves lives. You can’t forget that.”

“What will happen to him? What if the other personalities emerge whilst he is the institution? Will this man have to stay away from society for the rest of his life, just because something traumatic happened to him?”

You internally groaned, ‘God life is so fucking unfair’.

“There are precautions in place for men and women like him. He will get the help he needs.”

Silently, you thanked Spencer only to be interrupted by the loud ring of your cell.

“Hello?”

“Hi Y/N! It’s Penelope, I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing. I know this was a bitch of a case.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. But yeah it wasn’t the happy ending I could have hoped for but at least the killings stopped. Thank you for checking up on me, that’s really sweet of you.”

“As Derek likes to say, Sweetness is my middle name.”

Confused, Spencer discreetly asked, “Who’s on the phone?”

“Garcia.”

“Is that boy wonder I hear?” She teased playfully.

“Yes Penelope, it is in fact Mr. Genius. Would you like to talk to him?”

“Oh yes please.”

You happily passed the phone onto Spencer, admiring the smallest gestures.

You observed the way that he would pout when Penelope mocked him, and the way his face lit up when she muttered an inside-joke.

“NO! Tha- that is so not true.”

Pulling you out of your reverie, was Spencer practically hissing at Penelope and screaming down the phone, completely flushed. 

“Spence, are you okay?” A small giggle slipped out of your mouth, making him pout. You couldn’t help it, but he was just too cute when he was flustered.

What could Garcia have possibly said to make him react in such a way?

Despite the laughter that poured out of the phone, Spencer hung up on Penelope without a second thought and handed it back to you shyly.

“Sorry about that, she likes to um ‘ruffle my feathers’. Her words not mine.”

“It’s okay Sherlock, you look cute when your so-called feathers have been ruffled.”

Shit. You really just said that out loud. What is wrong with you Y/N? 

However, it was too late, you had to roll with it, but luckily Spencer took it on as sarcasm.

“I guess I can’t deny how attractive I must look when I look as red as a tomato.”

“Swoon-worthy Doctor Reid. Really. I almost fainted.”

“It looks like you will just have to call me handsome from now on.” Spencer reddened at this, surprised by his own words. Even you were shocked by his suggestion, but you weren’t backing down now. You were in too deep. The sarcasm would have to be dripping off your next response.

“Okay handsome. I have zero issue with that. I have a few other suggestions. I do like the sound of model boy, or professor charming. How about smart and sexy? I must admit that it has a nice ring to it. Don’t you think? Handsome?”

Completely taken aback, Spencer stuttered and even coughed. A poor attempt at regaining his strained voice.

“It’s okay my love, I understand. It must be so difficult being so incredibly good-looking. Save your angelic voice for me charming. I bid you adieu.”

Taking the ticket right out of there, you left in a restrained sprint. You never took yourself as the flirty type but you were pretty sure you overdid it.

* * *

To your unwavering lack of luck, you arrived at the jet 10 minutes late. You were already close to being late when you forgot your go-bag in the bullpen, but you decided to worsen your timing by convincing yourself that it would only take 2 minutes to change into something comfortable. To your poor judgement, it took you 6.

You practically ran up the stairs of the jet, composing yourself before anyone could see you sweating. 

It seemed that you had made the right call however, because the entire team, excluding Hotch, had changed into more fitting clothes. 

“And the princess finally arrives.”

“Sorry I am late, I completely forgot my go-bag in the bullpen.”

“It’s okay kid, I only just got here too.” Rossi glanced at you sympathetically, and you nodded in relief.

But to your misfortune, your relief was extremely short-lived. 

Professor hot stuff was the only passenger with an empty seat next to him. He seemed too caught up in a mini dispute with JJ to notice your late arrival. From what you could hear, JJ refused to move from the seat in the corner where she lay in protest, somewhere that Spencer apparently ‘always slept’.

You shuffled over to the unoccupied seat and awkwardly sat next to Spencer, avidly avoiding further eye contact. He immediately stopped speaking to JJ and quietened. Wanting to disappear, you pulled your over-sized hoodie over your knees and laid your head atop them. Emily picked up on this tension and pulled out a deck of cards whilst the jet took off.

“Let’s play a round of poker. We can use these peanuts as chips.”

As much as you loved to play poker, you simply couldn’t face Spencer. If only he spoke to you like nothing happened instead of ignoring your existence.

“Come on short stuff, a round will be fun. Plus, I need to know if you’re good. We could really use some real players.”

Did Spencer really just talk to you? Were you imagining things?

“You’re not really going to back down now? Are you? I get it, you did say I am unbelievably handsome.”

Apparently not. Apparently you fed into Spencer’s ego because he just outed your private conversation to the entire team.

Even Hotch and Rossi stopped speaking because of how shocked they were. Derek simply smirked.

“Kid’s got game!”

Faltering to his apparent ‘charm’ you gave in, “Fine, I will play a stupid round of poker.”

You grumpily snatched the cards in front of you, hoping that they would think you were too tired to play properly. As long as you could make them believe that you were wholly uninterested in the game, you were golden for a clean win.

1 hour had passed. Morgan ditched his cards 10 minutes ago, claiming that Spencer was cheating. Emily was ready to go all in. Spence was calculating the probability of him winning all the peanuts on the table. And you were hiding behind a mask of misery, making it appear as though you had the worst hand in the world, subtly enough that a bunch of profilers couldn’t tell. 

From how the game was going, you could tell that Emily was bluffing. She was furrowing her eyebrows, it was her tell. She was usually good at hiding it, but you noticed the slight movement when she momentarily glared at her cards. You had a straight flush, so you also went all in, you were fairly sure that no one had a royal flush. Spencer raised his brow at your sudden willingness to play, shooting you an inquisitive look. In an instant he too, placed all the peanuts in the middle of the table, and without hesitation he took all the imaginary chips hostage in his arms, only to reveal a royal fucking flush.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“That’s why I quit pretty little lady, this man is from Vegas.”

Annoyed, Emily muttered under her breath, “That didn’t stop me last time.”

“Last time?” You asked, Emily clearly not expecting anyone to pick up on her remark.

“Yeah, I beat Spencer a couple cases back. I must have slashed his ego down to the size of a pea because he refused to play up until now. Best poker game ever.”

“She cheated Y/N. I always win.”

Mockingly you and Derek simultaneously teased, “Whatever you say, pretty boy.”

This earned a laugh from Prentiss and a high five from Morgan. 

Admittedly, it was the most fun you had in a while. Genuine people like them were hard to come by. Especially Spencer.


	4. Chapter 4

Hopping out the shower clean as a whistle, you shimmied over to your relentless phone, unlocking it to see what all the fuss was about.

Oh shit. 

Those were the only two words that could perfectly describe your current situation. Oh wait! That’s wrong. 

Utterly fucked.

Now that’s the one.

25 alerts had gone off whilst you enjoyed basking in the steam of your boiling shower. You set 25 reminders, only to ignore them, and then forget.

God, for someone who graduated high school at 14, you weren’t incredibly clever.

With panic finally hitting you like a bus, you began to shut down.

Being the sweet guy he is, Spence offered to give you a ride to Hotch’s place because your hotel was on the way from his apartment. And that meant that Spencer would be here to pick you up in less than 3 hours. 

Now to some, 3 hours would seem like plenty of time. But when you have to get ready for a dinner party at your boss’s place and somehow dress formally enough for the dinner, casually enough for the people around you, and hot enough for Spencer to not look at you like a simple friend, 3 hours just won’t cut it. 

So, like a reasonable maniac, you begin to frantically scramble around the hotel room for your hairbrush that decided to go MIA on the big night. 

Tragically, you had to resort to your comb because your hairbrush had walked out you. 

In the most passive-aggressive manner, you succeeded in blow drying your hair, re-combing it, curling it, putting on a minimal amount of make-up, and you even managed to put in contacts without fully blinding yourself. Job well done.  
Minus the fact that you couldn’t contain your ever-growing panic any longer, and so you violently pulled out all of the nice clothes you owned from the wardrobe.

What to wear, what to wear. Hm.

After finally antagonising yourself, you settled on your favourite off the shoulder, purple blouse and a black thigh-length skirt to match. It was perfect really. You could actually pull off the trinity of looks. 

You shuffled over to the bathroom mirror, praying that you didn’t look like a complete troll. But to your kindled satisfaction, you had to admit that you didn’t look all that bad. 

You styled your hair into a wavy form, pinning back a couple haywire strands. Your makeup was simple. You decided to wear a little bit of concealer, blush, highlight, mascara, and lipgloss, completed with some cute winged eyeliner to make yourself look awake. You settled on wearing two sets of purple stud earrings and kept your little silver cuff on your left ear. You smoothed down your blouse and carefully tucked it into your skirt, appreciating how you looked. With a spritz of Chanel perfume on your neck and wrists, you finally went to check the time on your phone. 

Somehow, you managed to get ready in the 3 hours you left yourself, without having a complete breakdown. Alas, the panic wasn’t quite over yet, because Spencer would be here to pick you up any minute now.

“Y/N?” The familiar and unforgettable voice of the one and only Spencer Reid, pulled you from your clouded thoughts, “You in here?”

Oh god.

“No?” You squeaked.

NO? What do you mean nO? You literally just answered him! Why on earth did you just say that. That’s it. You decided that you were too socially inept for this dinner. Too much of an idiot to function like a normal human being. Typical.

“Um, well considering you just responded, I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that you are here. So…can I come in?”

“Yes?”

Seriously Y/N. You would have to do much better than that to survive the night.

“I mean sure. One minute.”

You awkwardly sprinted over to the front door, mentally preparing yourself for the handsome sight of Spencer Reid.

In one quick motion, you unhooked the latch to reveal Spencer innocently standing idly, sporting a soft blush that started to climb up his neck upon seeing you.

Innocent is the perfect word to describe this man. But Jesus Christ. You were definitely not having holy thoughts at this very moment. Especially with Spencer looking like, that.

Spencer was wearing a long sleeved, violet shirt underneath the grey vest that complimented his slim black tie. Not only was he looking like your purple prom date, but he was wearing a black trench coat paired with his classic indigo scarf. And instead of wearing black dress shoes, Spencer was wearing his favourite pair of original converses. It was all just so…Spencer. Dear god, was this man fine.

Finally regaining the ability to breathe, you stuttered, “Hey…um uh come in?” 

Spencer loosened the scarf around his neck, clearing his throat as he stepped inside.

“Are you, um are you okay?” Spencer sauntered inside and leant against the bathroom door with the grace of a runway model. “You seem…skittish.”

“What? Nah, pfft. Couldn’t be me.”

Wow Y/N, real convincing. 

“Anyways, I won’t be drinking tonight so I can give you a ride back home if you like.”

That’s it! Alcohol! That would be your primary solution. 

“Yes oh my god that would be great! Thank you Spence.”

You eyed the mini bottle of vodka on your nightstand, huddled in between the other assortments of mini alcohols. Without another thought, you calmly walked over to the menacing little bottle, and just downed the entire thing.

“Woah, Y/N. That’s one way to start the night.”

“Yeah well, it will help me open up. I want to be able to talk to everyone at the party tonight. Plus, I get nervous around you.”

“Me? I’m the least intimidating person on the team.” Slightly offended, Spencer inched closer to you, trying to assess your body language, muttering something incoherent.

“Your tall.” 

“That’s your reason? I intimidate you because I am tall? Derek is the same height as me, but you two are comfortable with each other. Did I do something wrong?”

“No! Not at all Spence! You could never do anything wrong. He’s just simply not as good looking as you. Is he professor charming?”

Nice save. Sarcasm truly is your best friend.

“Right, well it’s nice to know that alcohol begins to affect your nervous system within 5 minutes and 26 seconds.”

“I am not a lightweight Doctor Reid. I’m just stating the facts.”

“Okay Doctor Y/L/N. I will just have to take your word for it.” 

With a light smirk, Spencer fell onto your bed, with his arms behind his back for support. But you knew that you were the one who needed support, because with the way Spencer was sat, you were going to collapse like a flustered idiot.

Subtly checking his watch, Spencer turned his face back to you. “We should get going short stuff, we don’t want to be late.”

Promptly, you grabbed the coat next to him, preparing yourself for a night of hopeful fun.

\- - - - -

Thankfully, the car ride over wasn’t a nightmare. You didn’t stutter once, and you were able to carry the conversation for at least 20 minutes. God bless alcohol.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Spencer removed the key from the ignition and you swiftly removed the seatbelt. 

Ready to get out of the car, Spnecer said, “Wait! Don’t move.”

Anxious that a insect hitched a ride on your back, you remained very still while he rushed out of the car. 

You watched him through the windshield as he made his way over to your side.

“Voila!” Spencer opened the car door for you and bore a kind smile.

“Such a gentlemen Dr. Reid. Thank you. I’m just glad there wasn’t a tarantula sitting on my shoulder.”

Slightly confused, Spencer furrowed his eyebrows, but remained proud of the sweet gesture nonetheless.

You both quietly strolled up to Hotch’s front door, knocking for him to let the two of you in.

Due to the bitter breeze, you instinctively placed your hands in the pockets of your coat.

“Y/N, you have a leaf in your hair. Can I take it out? I don’t want you to ruin your hair whilst blindly trying to retrieve it.”

“Sure.”

Gently, Spencer pushed your hair behind your ear, sending shivers down your spine. Your brain registered how soft his hands are and the way his warm breath tickled your sensitive neck. Suddenly, Hotch opened the door and Derek was peeping out behind him, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You and Spencer simultaneously looked up, and you felt as if you had been caught doing something much more intimate. Embarrassment taking over, you blushed at Morgan’s wide smirk.

“Guys! Come see this. Pretty boy and pretty little lady are matching. The two lovebirds look like each other’s date!”

Aaron laughed at this whilst JJ, Rossi, Emily, and Penelope came rushing to the front door. 

Spencer stood still behind you, quickly removing his hand. You also remained glued to the floor, suddenly feeling very warm despite the cold weather.

“Oh wow, Mr and Mrs Sherlock went all out this evening.” Emily tilted her head to the side, taking in your identical colour scheme, I’m impressed.”

“Ha! Wh- what a coincidence! I hadn’t even noticed. Spencer and I just have good taste I guess. What can I say? Purple really is for genius’ huh?”

How humble Y/N. Now, you sound like a complete weirdo. Congratulations.

Unsure of what else to say, Spencer finally spoke up and followed your lead, “Exactly! In recent studies, people have found that if your favourite colour is purple, then you are most likely intuitive, successful, compassionate, and intelligent. This comes from the separate study of colour theory. For example, Penelope’s favourite colour is yellow. This suggests that she is a extremely cheerful, independent, spontaneous, and brave person.”

“Okay pretty boy, no need to analyse Penelope to get out of this.”

You noticed how Spencer gulped and scrunched his nose out of awkwardness, automatically making you smile. 

After everyone finally calmed down about your ‘colour scandal’ with Spence, Hotch let the two of you in.

\- - - - -

It was a lovely house to say the least. Many pictures of Hotch’s family, most of them being his son, decorated the walls and mantel. His son, Jack, seemed to take after Haley in the looks department, but he shared the same smile as dear old dad. 

Upon arriving, you and Spencer relieved yourselves of your coats, which so happened to look incredibly similar. No wonder Morgan and Emily took the opportunity to say that you were fit to match. In retrospect, you had brushed the idea off because all you could think about was how good Spencer looked in purple. You even decided not to blame yourself for not saying anything because you were a semi-sane person who had eyes. The fact that he wasn’t already wifed up absolutely baffled you.

Currently, you were all sat at the dining table, waiting for the Chinese to arrive. 

Hotch said that he was supposed to cook but the babysitter had to cancel, leaving him to pick up Jack, clean up the house by himself, and get ready. You all dismissed Hotch’s apologies, understanding the situation. Sadly, you had yet to meet mini Aaron Hotchner. Where could he possibly be?

Hesitant of interrupting any conversations, you settled on excusing yourself to the bathroom. 

Aaron explained that it was upstairs next to Jack’s room. Maybe you could say hi.

You walked up the stairs and finally found the bathroom.

After checking up on your makeup in the mirror and finally washing your hands, the door creaked open, revealing a small figure.

“Hello?”

Obviously curious as to who the new stranger in his house was, Jack stepped into the dim light.

“You must be Jack! It’s very nice to meet you, I am Dr. Y/N Y/L/N. I work with your dad.”

“Hi Doctor.” He timidly replied.

The young boy had blonde hair, just like his mother and cute little freckles adorned his cheeks.

You wanted to get along with Jack, so you tried to spark his interest. “Is that Superman on your shirt?” 

His face immediately lit up at the mention of Superman, really showing off that characteristic Hotchner smile. 

“Yeah, I love Superman. He’s really strong and smart, just like daddy!”

This made your heart melt because god this kid was cute.

“Why don’t you come downstairs with me little man? Dinner will be here soon.”

“Okay.” Jack smiled at you appreciatively.

He reached out for you, showing that he trusted you. Without hesitation, you accepted his tiny hand and funnily enough, it wasn’t too small in comparison to your own.

Jack lead you down the stairs, with a wide grin on his face. From his body language, you could tell he was about to show you off.

“Daddy! Look who I found. She’s Mr’s Doctor. Just like Spencer. Are they married?”

Your fond smile instantly fell at the mention of marriage and your eyes widened. Did a child just confuse you for Spencer’s wife? Yes. Were you surprised? No. Of course that would be the only vital question that this little boy could ask.

Everyone at the table fell into a fit of laughter as JJ choked on her red wine, and Hotch gestured for his son to sit on his lap.

“No buddy. Y/N and Spencer are both doctors, but it doesn’t mean they are married.”

Before you could see how Spencer was faring, the doorbell rang, and you took that chance to leave the room. You could not handle the embarrassment any longer.

“I’ve got it!”

“But it hasn’t been paid for Y/N.”

Aaron left Jack to mingle with the other agents, and strolled up to your side as you opened the front door.

You happily took the paper bags and Hotch paid the delivery man.

“I’m sorry about Jack. He gets a little excited when he meets someone new. I’m sure he meant nothing by it when he suggested Spencer. But I can’t promise that Derek won’t use it to call you Mrs. Reid from time to time.” Hotch chuckled at the inconvenience, making you giggle a little as well. You couldn’t keep getting so riled up and embarrassed every time Spencer was mentioned. All you would do was make it obvious.

“Well he’s a lovely kid! If your babysitter flakes out on you again, feel free to ask me. I would love to babysit Jack, I have a way with kids.”

“That would be great Y/N, thank you for offering. And I think you’re right, not many people can connect with Jack at first, let alone have the opportunity to hold his hand. He’s been a little distant with adults as of late, he even finds it difficult to speak to some of his teachers. Especially mother figures. Ever since Haley passed, Jack is scared of being left, so he decides to not put himself out there.”

“Bless him. I hope he comes out of his shell soon enough. With a great dad such as yourself, he will be fine.”

“Thank you Y/N.”

“And I think we should get the food to the team before they spite a riot of some kind.”

Hotch flashed you a knowing smirk in agreement, and so you both made your way to the dining table.

\- - - - -

Everyone was busy feasting on their delectable portions of Chinese takeaway, when you and Morgan both witnessed genius Reid aggressively struggle with a pair of chopsticks.

“You don’t know how to use them do you?” Derek smiled widely, teasing Spencer.

Exasperated, he dropped the chopsticks in frustration. “It’s like trying to forge for dinner with a pair of number two pencils!”

The whole team erupted into laughter and you giggled, very amused.

“So let me get this straight. You have an IQ of 187, but you can’t use chopsticks?” Expertly, you clicked your chopsticks at Reid, showing off your talent.

“Look, in my defence-“

“Never mind Reid, just give me your hand.”

Without a second thought, you lifted his hand with your right, and propped one chopstick on the crook of his thumb to rest on the tip of his ring-finger. 

“Now grip the second one like this.” 

You placed the lonely chopstick above the first, showing him how to hold it properly.

“All you have to do is use the top chopstick with your thumb and index-finger like guides to pick up your food.”

Happy with the results, you flashed Spencer an accomplished smile as he successfully picked up some noodles.

“There you go Spence!”

“Thanks short stuff.”

Suddenly, your mind was plagued with the recurring thoughts of how it felt to hold Spencer’s hand. 

Spencer had incredibly soft hands, not so calloused as you would expect, and much warmer than your own. A warmth you didn’t want to be parted from.

“Please can I have some help Miss Doctor?” Jack hopped off from his seat next to Hotch and shuffled over to you.

“Of course you can buddy.”

You carefully pulled Jack onto your lap where he comfortably sat on your knee.

“Okay Jack, what can I help you with?”

“I know how to hold the chopsticks but they are too big for me.”

“Could you pass them to me please?”

Jack nodded softly and laid the peculiar utensils in the palm of your hand. Instinctively, you grabbed a hair tie off your wrist and wrapped it around the top of the chopsticks and asked Emily to pass you a fortune cookie. When you opened the treat, you grabbed the paper from inside and continued to fold it into a rectangle. Finally, you placed the paper between the placement of the hair tie, acting as a buffer so they wouldn’t slip out of his hands.

“And voila! Here you go little man, some DIY training chopsticks.”

“Thank you Y/N!”

You smiled a bright smile and inclined your head at Aaron who mouthed a silent thank you.

“Of course, anything for you kid.”

He grinned gratefully, and even pulled his plate over to were you sat so he could stay.

Jack remained seated on your lap as you all ate, happy to finally use his chopsticks.

The table fell into a comfortable silence with a few comments here and there, when Jack suddenly turned to face you after finishing his food.

“You have a pretty voice Y/N. It’s different to everyone else’s, but I like it.”

“Aw thank you Jack, that is very kind of you. It’s because I’m from England.”

Jack’s eyes immediately lit up, “That’s where the Queen lives! Are you a princess?”

Before you could respond, Derek answered for you.

“She sure is Jack, Y/N over here is the smartest princess you will ever meet.”

“Wow, can you take me to your castle?” Finishing his question with a long yawn, Jack’s inquisitive eyes began to droop.

“I would love to buddy, but you seem a little tired there. How about I take you up to bed and I can tell you a quick story about the castle.”

“Yes please.”

Mini Hotchner laid his head on your shoulder, reflexively wrapping his small arms around your neck.

You looked over at Hotch to double check if it was okay and he earnestly nodded, allowing you to pick up Jack and take him upstairs.

\- - - - -

Halfway up the stairs, you realised that the adorable young boy had fallen asleep in your arms.

Swiftly, you carried Jack to his room and carefully laid him on his bed.

“Goodnight little man.” You tucked him under the soft covers, gently ruffling his hair fondly.

Just as you turned off the light, Jack whispered, “Goodnight mommy.”

And that’s when your heart broke. 

Jack was only four and he had to hide from the same man that killed his own mother not too long ago. All you wanted to do was keep him safe. A strong maternal instinct had been switched on and all you could think about was how you would give anything for him to have his mother back. You had only known this little boy for a couple hours but you couldn’t deny how you just wanted to protect him. 

Quietly, you walked downstairs and back into the dining room where everyone was sitting patiently.

“Where’s Hotch?”

A little confused, you slid onto your chair next to Spencer, looking for the missing man.

“Right here.” Aaron strolled into the room with a tray of lemon cheesecake. 

Bless Aaron Hotchner for getting your favourite dessert.

“I thought we could all have a slice and wind down for a bit.”

“That’s a great idea, and it’s not like I’m complaining because you just so happened to buy my favourite dessert. Ever.”

Hotch settled back down, handing bowls of lemon heaven to everyone, and Derek piped up.

“So princess, what else don’t we know about you? Care to share lemon lover?”

Morgan wiggled his eyebrows at you, and you simply laughed.

“Oh there is a lot you guys don’t know about me, but I have a proposal. Everyone here can ask me a question about myself, but you each have to give me a little fact of your own. Sound fair?”

“Fair indeed pretty little lady.”

“Derek, you can start.”

Happily eating a spoonful of cheesecake, you attentively waited for Derek’s question.

“What would you be if you weren’t a profiler?”

“I think I would be a psychologist and help out kids with their traumas. I know it’s specific but there are so many kids out there who need support.”

Content with your answer, Morgan agreed, “I can definitely see you helping youngsters. God knows what I would’ve given for someone like you to have helped me out as a kid.”

You decided not to pry, coming to the conclusion that it was certainly not the time to bring up past traumas. Hopefully Derek would confide in you about it at a later stage.

“What’s your little fact for me then?”

“Well you know how I buy up properties?.” 

“Yeah.”

“I also destroy a few of them, some I rebuild and others I sell the land..”

“Interesting. Well, Penelope. Your up. We can just go clockwise.”

Excited for another question, you propped your elbows on the table and laid your head on your hands smiling. 

“What are five things you can’t live without and why?”

“Books, because I love to read and feel like I’m apart of those worlds. People, because my friends and family mean everything to me. Music because its music. Simple. Colour, because a world without colour would be so boring and super dull. And fluffy blankets, because I get cold so easily that it’s a little concerning.”

“I love you Y/N. You get me.” Penelope placed a hand on her heart, beaming at you brightly. “A little fact about me is that I oversee a support group on some of my days off.”

“That’s wonderful Penelope.” You couldn’t help but smile at this because this lovely woman had turned out to be even lovelier.

“Do you want kids in the future?” JJ smiled at you innocently, curious about your take on family life.

“I would love to! Preferably two boys and a little girl. Do you have any kids? I feel like you would be an amazing mum.”

“I have a son called Henry, he recently turned 1. And I hope I’m doing a good job.” 

Sheepishly, JJ tucked her hair behind her right ear.

“Oh JJ your son is lucky to have you.”

“Thank you Y/N, that’s really sweet of you.”

Too excited to wait a minute longer, Prentiss said, “Oh! My turn.” 

“Go ahead Em.”

“Now that the little one is out of the room, fuck marry or kill. Me, Spencer, and Rossi and why.”

“Easy. Screw you, because you are gorgeous. It’s a shame I’m straight though. Marry Spencer, because I would never be bored with him. Plus he would make a great trophy wife. And kill Dave because you are like a father figure, nothing more, nothing less. Sorry Rossi.”

Clearly taken aback by your fast response, Emily blinked at you with a blank face.

“Cheers to that. Princess has made several points ladies and gentlemen. I too agree that pretty boy would make a fantastic trophy wife.”

You and the rest of the team immediately burst into laughter, impressed by the fact that Morgan was able to say that with a straight face.

After five minutes of giggles and Emily revealing that she is a sucker for chick flicks, Dave cleared his throat, “So kiddo, what’s your favourite Italian dish?”

“I do love a good bowl of Carbonara pasta.”

“You have earned my respect kid. Also, a little something about me is that I have been married three times.”

“Three? Seriously?”

“Yes, kid. Three.”

Wow. Go Rossi.

“Alrighty, well boss, you’re next.”

“How have you been enjoying your time at the BAU?”

Before you could even think of something to say, the words simply flew out of your mouth. “I have loved every moment, minus the death of course, but I love having the opportunity to help people and you lot aren’t so bad yourselves.”

“Well I am glad we aren’t too much. And my fun fact is that I used to be a prosecutor.”

“That makes sense, you give off these lawyer vibes.”

Thankfully, Hotch didn’t take your comment the wrong way and was not hesitant in agreeing with you.

“Okay Spence, use your question wisely.”

Finally finishing your bowl of cheesecake, you awaited Spencer’s question.

“What’s your favourite book series?” 

“I think you can’t go wrong with the Infernal Devices. And don’t give me that face either. I know it’s not a classic like Pride and Prejudice but I love fantasy books, not to mention the romance involved. The love triangle had me balling my eyes out for a good few weeks after reading it for the first time. It has been my favourite series since I was 14.”

“I’ve never heard of it before, perhaps I will read it tomorrow. Anyways, my favourite book is The Narrative of John Smith by Arthur Conan Doyle.”

“How fitting Sherlock. But I must admit that I do admire his work.”

Satisfied with your answers, the team started to clear up as the clock chimed at 11pm.

The night went really fast but you enjoyed your time with everyone. It was so nice to see them all relaxed for once.

By 12:30, you had all finished a vicious game of monopoly, revealing your competitive streak. Yet you weren’t the only one who was afraid of losing, because Penelope also had a flare for winning and she wasn’t against going down violently.

In the end however, Dr. Reid schooled you both, taxing you an entire fortune each time you passed one of his 7 estates. And by the time you couldn’t afford an arm and a leg, you admitted sour defeat.

Once the game came to an end, you and Spencer decided to call it a night, both completely exhausted.

\- - - - -

God what happened?  
Your head was spinning like mad when you rose from your bed.

The sunlight peeping through the hotel curtains, threatened to blind your sensitive eyes because apparently you were very hungover.

You stumbled out of bed and scurried into the bathroom before you could puke all over the nice carpet, settling for the toilet.

Feeling like crap, you ran yourself a warm bubble bath in an attempt to shake your brain from the alcohol. 

Ultimately you looked and felt like a mess. Your hair was a spitting image of a birds nest and your mascara was smudged underneath your eyes, making you resemble a drunk panda. But you let the ickiness wash away in the bubble bath, allowing yourself to heal as you tried to remember the events after leaving Hotch’s house. For some reason, everything past then was blank.

How on Earth did one mini bottle of vodka and a couple glasses of red wine knock you out? So many questions began to flood your mind as you let yourself sink into the tub.

After a good half hour in the bath, you freshened up and wrapped a soft robe around you, looking less like a zombie.

Upon exiting, you noticed a tie and coat on the floor outside of the bathroom door. 

A necessary, “What the fuck?” slipped out of your mouth.

Confused but curious, you were about to flop onto your bed, only to discover that it was already occupied.

A little scared, you tightened the robe around your waist as you tiptoed to the right hand side of the mattress. Whoever was in your bed was obscured by the soft duvet, keeping you from seeing who you had slept with under the influence of alcohol. 

Suddenly, the concealed figure turned to face you with eyes wider than saucers.

“SPENCER?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! How's everyone doing? I hope you are all well and that you enjoyed this chapter :)
> 
> Feel free to ask me any questions on my tumblr @/okayspencer 
> 
> <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Fluff city :))

(The Night Before)

“Spencer I think I’m gonna be sick.”

You slammed your hand against your mouth as you felt your stomach rejecting the chaotic intake of sharp alcohol and takeaway. 

“We’re almost at your hotel, just five more minutes okay?”

You nodded slowly, unable to trust your ability to speak and not dispose of the brewing cocktail in your stomach.

In hindsight, it may have been best to not have an additional 4 glasses of Red Merlot, knowing you would be in a car an hour later. Stupid motion sickness.

Thankfully, you had refrained from vomiting inside of Spencer’s nice car. However your head was spinning in at least several dimensions.

When Spencer finally parked the car, you tried to get out. You even checked your footing for good measure, but you ended up failing miserably, only to fall in the secure hold of Reid.

“Slow down short stuff. You are in no shape to walk.”

Ignoring your poor attempts of denying that accurate fact, Spencer made himself available as a crutch.

You smiled genuinely at Spencer, so thankful that he was there. “My knight in shining armour.” 

With Spencer by your side, you managed to make it to your hotel room unscathed. But as you tried to bid him goodbye, Spencer refused to leave you alone in this state.

“Let me at least help you get settled in with a nice cup of hot chocolate and some aspirin.”

Unable to come up with a stable argument, you whispered your thank you’s and made your way inside.

Still very dizzy, you flopped down onto the bed in an attempt to ground yourself, but as soon as Spencer began to brew the cocoa, an urge to spill your guts had emerged.

Luckily, you made it to the bathroom in time without making a complete mess. And without thought you rid yourself of your seemingly tight clothing.

“Hey Spence! Would you mind passing me some pj’s? Some shorts and a tank will do. They’re in the top drawer.”

“Yeah sure, just a second.”

Politely knocking on the door, Spencer came bearing gifts. Or more specifically, comfy clothes.

“I’m not looking I swear, just take ‘em.”

He blindly passed you your clothes, refusing to look in your direction like a gentleman.

“I’m going to have a quick soak in the bath, I feel so icky right now. I will be five minutes.”

A muffled “Okay” made its way through the bathroom door, as you secured your hair into a loose bun.

You splashed some water onto your face, a weak attempt at taking off your makeup, as you let the bath fill with warm suds.

You slowly lowered yourself into the white tub, completely forgetting to remove the stubborn mascara that adorned your face, and suddenly your eyelids felt like lead, dragging you into a drowsy state.

Maybe you could take a quick nap? Only for ten minutes or so, Spencer wouldn’t mind. And the water wasn’t too high, so you wouldn’t exactly drown in your sleep.

You glanced over to the clock in the corner, registering the time. 1:17AM. 

You had taught yourself how to control your body clock, acting as your own alarm some mornings. But truth be told, you always had to set another alarm because you were never really awake the first time. Yet, you didn’t have that convenience so you hoped it would work.

So, you let the heat of the water soothe your aching muscles, with the scent of sandalwood calming your jittery manner.

Taking a deep breath, you closed your heavy eyes.

\- - - - -

The exceedingly low temperature of the bathtub had woken you up. Alerting your brain that your body was way too cold and in need of a stable heat source.

You observed your prune-like hands, scrunching your nose in discomfort upon seeing the wrinkles.

How long were you in there for?

You focused hard on the clock, trying to make out the new numbers. 

Albeit a little blurry, with sleep masking your eyes from clearer vision, the clock red 2:39AM.

Great.

Apparently your body clock wasn’t so reliable after all.

Still half-asleep, you got dressed into your pyjamas and exited the bathroom to find someone fast asleep.

Spencer was lying as stiff as a board on the right side of your bed, sleeping peacefully.

You figured that he had waited for you to finish in the bathroom but unknowingly fell asleep, just as you had in the bathroom. Except your decision was a little more conscious per se.

As promised however, a cup of not so hot cocoa was on your bedside table with a box of aspirin. 

God this man was amazing.

Once you took a sip of the cold chocolate concoction, you downed a couple aspirin pills that alleviated your unrelenting headache.

You turned off the main lights in favour for the bedside lamp, and swiftly tucked yourself under the duvet, trying to leave Spencer’s sleep undisturbed.

With muffled movement, you felt the weight of the mattress sink to your left, alerting you of his close presence.

You whispered “Good night Spence.” And allowed the fatigue to consume you.

\- - - - - 

A foreign feeling had awoken you, making you feel as groggy as ever.

Your entire body felt anchored down to the bed, your eyes practically sown shut.

Willing your muscles to obey, you were able to pry your eyes open to read the alarm clock to your left, to find yourself awake at the ungodly hour of 5am.

You groaned in retaliation to the mocking clock, still encompassed by sleep. Unable to make memorable decisions.

It was quite a strange little party trick that your brain had picked up. Whenever you were woken by another person, you would remember everything. Your brain would be tuned in completely. But when you had woken yourself up, it was a whole other story. Because for some reason, waking up independently means that your brain is not in the mood to make memories.

Unexpectedly, something shifted behind you, pulling you closer as a warm weight tightened around your waist.

Unopposed to the new feeling, you revelled in the increasing warmth, still however a little curious.

Rolling over to face whatever was seeking a comfort that you could provide, you were met with the softened features of Spencer Reid.

You desperately wanted to remember this particular face. A face similar to that of a pure child. A face that could only be labelled as innocent. He had a lop-sided smile that sent your heart into overdrive.

Conscious you would be freaking out. But she wasn’t in charge.

The primal instinct inside, was telling you to be close to your heat source. It’s simply survival.

Of course, your logical side of the brain was currently indisposed, lacking the ability to make any conscious choices. So, you shifted again, allowing him to comfortably drape his arm over your exposed waist, resting atop your stomach.

Before you were captured by your unwavering need to rest, Spencer had buried his face into the crook of your neck, with his lips almost perched atop your pulse.

You felt protected in that moment. You felt safe. 

It was a shame you wouldn’t remember in the morning.

\- - - - - 

(Now)

“OW!”

Spencer was now residing on the floor, cocooned in the covers.

“Spencer? Is that really you?” You crouched beside him, hesitantly removing the blanket from his face and rubbing your eyes in disbelief.

But there was no doubt in this. That was definitely Spencer, and not a hallucinative side effect of the hangover.

What really piqued your interest was the fact that he was avidly avoiding eye contact.

Forgetting that you were only in a short little robe with no underwear, you snatched the duvet from him, wrapping it tight around your body. 

Yes, you may have resembled a marshmallow, but the covers were your only shield and way of keeping yourself decent.

“So, uh Spence. Um what brings you here?” 

“Do you not remember last night?”

“Oh my god. Did we sleep together?!”

“Yes. I mean NO not that way!” A deep blush rose onto his cheeks as he surveyed your body language, “Look, last thing I remember is that you said you were going to have a quick bath. I made you some hot chocolate and laid out the aspirin, waiting for you. I’m so sorry, I must’ve fallen asleep whilst you where in there.”

“I hate it when my brain does this, I can’t remember shit!”

Looking dejected and embarrassed, Spencer’s eyes drooped apologetically.

“Don’t be sorry Spence. You were really tired. It’s not your fault. I would’ve offered anyway because you were clearly in no condition to drive back home that exhausted.”

“O-okay.”

“I’m uh going to get changed now, so could you-“

“Turn around? Sure.”

Out of respect and decency, Spencer turned to face the other way, as you awkwardly shuffled over to your wardrobe and dresser like a gigantic marshmallow.

At the speed of light, you finally put on some comfy and lacy underwear. You also managed to pull on a pair of dark work jeans and a periwinkle blouse. All set for a day at work.

After a measly three minutes, you teased, “Okay Spence, I will no longer deny you of my stunning attire,” finishing off with a little twirl.

A cute laugh escaped his pink lips, smiling at your comical approach. Thankfully, it was all that was needed to diminish the weird tension.

“Now as much as I like to see you a little ragged Spence…” his eyebrow perked up at this statement, matched with a cocky grin, “We are going out for breakfast, before we go in for work. It’s only 7am, so I’m going to work my magic and make you look a little more presentable.” You glided over to his looming stature, close enough to run your hands down his chest. Unfortunately you had to ignore and sadly reject those thoughts before you created a weird atmosphere within your so-called friendship. And you were not prepared to ruin that.

“Oh?”

On your tiptoes, you reached for the untamed curls that rest on Spencer’s head, rustling his hair dramatically. 

“Wow, your hair is really soft, but alas my good friend, it needs a quick brush. And do you have a go-bag in your car?”

“Yes, yes, and yes. I will be right back.”

Grabbing the keys to his car, Spencer left to get some new clothes.

Before you could sort out your own hair and makeup, a loud ringing stopped you in your tracks. You hurried over to the dresser, and picked up the phone. With big bold letters, the name Derek was glaring at you. So, you picked it up without another thought.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOY GENIUS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!”

A low ringing had started to pierce your ears. “I think you just blew my ear drums out.” 

“Princess? Why do you have Spencer’s phone…”

“What?” Hurriedly, you turned over the phone, only to realise it was exactly the same make as yours.

“Oh shit, I thought it was mine. Turns out he has the same phone as me-“

Whilst trying to explain yourself, you realised you weren’t asking the most important question.

“WAIT IT’S SPENCER’S BIRTHDAY?”

“Yes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it is October 28th right?”

“Oh my god. It’s Spencer’s BIRTHDAY TODAY.”

“Yes ma’am, but it still begs the question as to why you have Spencer’s phone.”

“Oh, he stayed the night looking after me. The alcohol didn’t mix too well with my motion sickness, and he was also way too exhausted to drive all the way to his apartment.”

In a mocking tone, Derek decided to shriek into your already bleeding ears, “Oooooh, Pretty boy got lucky last night.” 

“No! Stop that. I can assure you that is not what happened. But I do need a favour.”

“Shoot.”

“Does Spencer have a favourite treat? And could you tell Hotch we’re going to be a little late? Tell him I will explain when we get there.”

“Yes, I can do that. You are lucky little lady because it’s paperwork day, so being late won’t be too bad. And Spencer loves donuts! Especially the ones with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.”

“Thank you so much Derek, I owe you. Okay, I gotta go. See you soon.”

You promptly ended the call, and noticed the pile of notifications on Spencer’s phone. They all consisted of birthday wishes and kind messages from the team.

A knot of guilt started to tighten in your stomach, but deep down you knew that it wasn’t your fault for not knowing. But it didn’t stop you from wanting to treat Spencer to a nice breakfast and some doughnuts.

You dialled the local bakery and asked if they delivered.

“Hi there! I was wondering if I could have some doughnuts delivered at my workplace later today?”

“Yes of course, what type and where?”

“Chocolate frosting with sprinkles, make that a dozen please. Could you deliver them at around 1:30 sharp, just in time for my lunch break. And I work at the BAU, but because I’m on the top floor I will meet the delivery guy at the reception.”

“Consider it done, can I take a name?”

“Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Okay Y/N, our delivery guy will give you a call when he’s at the reception! Have a great day.”

“Thank you!”

Happy with the order you placed, you returned Spencer’s phone onto the dresser and remembered that yours was on charge in the bathroom.

You quickly put on some heels, and stumbled into the bathroom, ready to attack your face with a beauty blender.

You started by blending some liquid concealer under your eyes and around your eyebrows, allowing them to bake with the new mineral powder you just bought.

Whilst you waited for the powder to bake, you took it upon yourself to finally dry your hair. When you finished drying it, you brushed it gently, pleased with it’s straight appearance and sleek shine.

You started to wipe off the powder on your cheeks, and placed two dots of red lipstick to the apples of your cheeks. Before you could blend it in however, Spencer came barreling through the front door.

“I’m back!” 

At those sudden words, your eyes widened at the realisation of how insane you would look to him.

As you blindly reached for the doorknob, Spencer walked in before you could hide.

“Is this some sort of ritual? It looks tribal.”

You erupted into laughter at the suggestion, careful not to let any tears spill on your face. You turned back to the mirror as you carefully applied some mascara.

“No, just some good old makeup. Don’t worry, I was just about to finish taking it off.”

A confused pout graced Spencer’s lips, “Then what’s if for if you aren’t keeping it on your face?”

“It’s called baking powder, and it makes the concealer under my eyes look more natural and crease-free.”

Reid shrugged, completely defeated by the makeup terms. “I won’t pretend like I know what that means.” 

“What took you so long anyway genius?” 

“I got dressed in the restroom downstairs. See.”

Once you finished coating your lashes in thick liquid and smoothed the light lipstick into your cheeks, you turned your neck sideways.

Spencer was dressed in a tight blue sleeve-shirt, coveted in a grey vest. He had a dark tie in resemblance of honeycomb, which hung loose underneath the collar of his shirt. It was undone by a couple buttons, leaving your imagination to run wild. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing the tanned muscle that’s usually hidden. And thank god it wasn’t hidden, because you found yourself wanting to admire him endlessly. The sparkle of a silver chain caught your eye. You followed the glinting metal to find it tucked away inside his side pocket, presumably attached to a pocket watch. 

Completely entranced, you found it so difficult to look away. 

God, you wanted to have him right there in that moment. You tried to convince yourself that a little heated birthday present wouldn’t hurt, but logic was against you, threatening to leave him well alone.

Clearing your throat, you spoke. “Uh, well you clean up nicely.”

“Thank you, as do you. Minus the war paint.”

You rolled your eyes playfully and smiled. “Very funny Spencer.” 

Turning back to the mirror, you brushed off the small remnants of baking powder and applied some highlight to your bare cheekbones. You lined the bottoms of your lash line with white, making you appear more awake and flicked a little dark eyeshadow at the sharp corners of your eyes. Finally, you peppered a few dots of red onto your lips, rubbing them together to brighten your smile.

Content with your makeup, you tucked your smooth hair behind your ears and grabbed the hairbrush.

“Your earrings are really pretty, that’s why they suit you.”

You were taken aback by the sudden compliment, but it made you feel warm. “Why thank you for the flattery handsome, it’s very much appreciated. Now if you don’t mind it’s your turn.”

“Please don’t put makeup on my face.”

Dramatically, you placed a hand over your heart, “You wound me Spence, I would never do such a thing. Just let me fix your hair.”

Obliging, Spencer moved closer to you and even ducked a little, giving you some leverage on his height.

You carefully untangled the few knots, mussing up the hair in certain spots so it wouldn’t get frizzy.

“And you’re done!”

“Thank you short stuff.”

Grinning, you picked up an expensive bottle of Chanel perfume, spritzing it on your wrists and neck.

“Come on handsome, I’m going to get you a quick breakfast before we get to work.”

\- - - - - 

“What are you doing?” Confused, Spencer furrowed his eyebrows and pouted.

“I know you already miss me, but I will be one second.”

Excited, you watched Spencer get in the car, as you hurried into the bakery opposite Jim’s Breakfast.

“Hi there! Could I please get a chocolate cupcake with Oreo chocolate chip frosting, and two lattes.”

“Coming right up, be with you in just a sec.”

The kind lady at the counter, meandered over to the till and punched in a few numbers.

“That will be 9 dollars and 25 cents.”

Still a little weary with your American currency, you tried really hard not to confuse it with the British pound. You quickly gave the woman a 10 dollar bill and told her to keep the change, instead of faffing around for whatever a cent looked like. In return, she gave you the tasty treat and coffee cups, and you gave your thanks. 

You left the shop at a fast pace, and got into the front seat of the car, carefully placing the coffee into the holders with your other hand outstretched.

“What’s this for?”

“Happy Birthday Spence.” You smiled gleefully, holding the cupcake in your hand.

Spencer’s eyes softened, realising why you asked what cupcake he liked best back at Jim’s.

“You really didn’t have to Y/N.”

“Of course I did. It’s your birthday, if I knew sooner I would have gotten you something much better.”

Hastily, Spencer plucked the cupcake from your hand and gave you a bright smile. The best smile.

“How did you even find out?”

“When you went out to the car, a phone went off and I assumed it was mine. When I saw that it was Derek, I immediately picked up thinking it was a work emergency. Instead, I got an earful of the classic birthday tune in the highest of pitch. I’m pretty sure my ears were bleeding.”

Spencer chuckled at this, imagining the very moment Morgan shrieked the song.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”

“I didn’t think it was all that relevant.” He shrugged, eyeing up the creamy cake. You could practically see his eyes glisten with lust.

“Well, sorry to break it to you, but I think it is incredibly relevant. It’s the day your wonderful mother gave birth to a mini genius.”

“I wish I could see her today, I miss her a lot.”

“I’m sorry, I wish I could take you to see her today.”

“It’s okay, she isn’t exactly close by. Anyways, when did your wonderful mother give birth to female mini genius.”

“December 10th 1985. Jeez I’m 23 in a couple months.”

“You are only younger than me by 4 years and 43 days.”

“Ah so that’s the lucky number. 27 huh?”

“Yeah. Did you know that in some cultures that the number 27 is a symbol of spiritual enlightenment, signifying your relationship with your mind and soul.”

“I didn’t but that is pretty cool. Did you know that 23 is widely considered an evil number, signifying bad luck and it is sacred to the gods of the Cthulhu Mythos. I think I can say with confidence that I am doomed, in comparison to your spirits,”

\- - - - - 

The two of you shared a light conversation in the elevator about Doctor Who, figuring out that you both loved it. You were brought up watching it with your father back home in England, and it was always your favourite. 

Arriving at the 15th floor of the building, you both exited and walked into the incredibly empty bullpen.

“Where is everyone? Y/N? Do you know?” Spencer took a large bite out of the cupcake, hoping it would relieve a building tension.

“Nope. I honestly have zero idea.” 

You followed Spencer through the bullpen and into the dark break room, just as confused as him.

Suddenly, the room was engulfed by light and everyone cheered ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPENCER!’.

You carefully watched Spencer’s face light up, his smile reaching his ears. His smile truly was a rarity. The smallest flicker of joy and a little twitch of his lips sent you into a haze of happiness, consuming you until you also smiled brightly.

Spencer walked into the middle of the room like a beacon, lighting up every inch. You quickly joined JJ in the right corner of the room, contently watching as he blew out the candles on his blue birthday cake. Derek pulled a birthday boy hat onto his head, giving him a brotherly pat on the back. Once everyone had wished Spence a happy birthday and hugged him tightly, it was your turn.

With a toothy grin, Spencer pulled you into a soft hug, sharing his warmth and energy. 

“Happy Birthday Spence! I hope you have an amazing day.”

You shot him a tender smile, as he relaxed from the hug finally letting you go.

“Well you’ve already given me a great start Y/N, so thank you.”

Derek raised his thick eyebrows at this, matched with a cheeky grin, “Does this have anything to do with princess answering your phone at 7 in the morning?”

Completely unaware of the lewd implication, Spencer quickly responded.

“Yes! She bought breakfast and then gave me this Oreo cupcake, one of my favourites.”

“Hey princess, can I also have the Y/N birthday treatment?”

You gave Morgan a sly glare, that turned into a lopsided grin. “Maybe, it depends if you behave.” 

Penelope planted a huge box into Spencer’s arms, covered in vibrant yellow wrapping paper, that appeared to look very heavy.

“Open it. We all wanted to get you something.”

Engulfed in excitement, Spencer made quick work of the wrapping paper, tearing it into small pieces to reveal six large books.

“No way!”

“Yes way, pretty boy.”

Spencer uncovered the books and gently laid them out onto the table in front of the cake. It appeared to have been six very rare, special editions of his favourite books. A couple even in Russian and one in Korean. You couldn’t help but think of what it would be like for Spencer to teach you a new language. You’ve been itching to learn another this past year. You only knew English, French, Tagalog, and German.

You began to wish that you could’ve pitched in on the gift giving, but Spencer recognised that solemn look in your eye.

“Hey, I already told you that it’s okay. You only found out this morning but still managed to get me a damn good breakfast. You are more than generous and thoughtful, don’t forget it.”

Defeated, you stopped beating yourself up about it and smiled at his kindness.

Once everyone settled, and took a slice of cake, you all got to doing some paperwork.

“Y/N! Can I speak to you in my office please.” Hotch called out, exposing his head out the door.

“Hi Sir, what can I do for you?” A little anxious, you fiddled with the hem of your sleeve, picking at the lining.

“I just got a call from reception that you have a delivery.”

“Oh my god! Is it already 1o’clock? Sorry Hotch, I didn’t realise the time.”

“It’s okay, I was just about to tell everyone that it’s their break. May I ask what it is?”

“I ordered some of Spencer’s favourited doughnuts earlier this morning. When I found out, I figured I could at least treat him with something. And, I am so sorry we were late. It was completely my fault.”

“Don’t worry about it, Derek told me you would be late and we chalked it up to a small birthday surprise, which was perfect because it worked along with ours.”

“Oh well I’m glad. I will be back in just a minute.”

After hurrying over to the elevators, purse in hand, you reached the bottom floor at reception in under 5 measly minutes, ready to greet the delivery man.

“Hi! I’m Y/N, here to pick up the doughnuts I ordered.”

Despite your good mood, the bleak man was definitely not in the same boat.

“That’ll be 9 dollars and 95 cents.”

Blunt as ever. Lovely.

For the second time that day, you handed the person a 10 dollar bill to save yourself the embarrassment of handing over the wrong change.

Commencing the dull exchange, you carefully secured the pink box of dozen in your arms, ensuring its safety and your sanity.

You hid the bulky box behind your small back, as you reached the bullpen and like a ninja, you crept up behind Spencer’s desk chair and tapped his shoulder.

“Close your eyes, no peaking Spencer.”

As Spencer followed through with your request, you placed the box down in front of him, quickly replacing his hands with your own, ensuring he couldn’t see. This did bring the attention of Derek and JJ, who were both deeply intrigued. Even Rossi was trying to sneakily watch through the blinds in his office, but you were too observant not to notice his curiosity.

“Okay Spence, on the count of three I will give you your vision back, okay? 1…2…3!”

You rapidly removed your hands from Spencer’s eyes, revealing the mysterious box before him.

“Is it a bomb? Are you really gonna kill me on my own birthday? That’s low Y/N.”

“Such a joker, but go on. I know you want to open it. I can feel the eagerness radiating off of you.”

Failing to suppress a low laugh, Spencer gently lifted the lid from the occupied box.

“You didn’t.”

“Oh, but I did.”

In one swift movement, Spencer turned around, got up from his squeaky chair, and pulled you into his welcoming embrace.

“I actually love you, Y/N.”

Surprised by the sudden response, you blushed furiously at the comment.

“Woah buddy, take me out to dinner first.”

Awkwardly giggling, you gestured for Spencer to eat a doughnut.

Appreciatively, Reid bit into the chocolate goodness whilst Derek, JJ, and Rossi watched in jealousy.

A low moan escaped his plump lips, truly enjoying the treat. It was quite possibly the best reaction you could’ve gotten, the hottest, because that one little sound would be infinite fuel for many nights in your future.

Already flustered by the thoughts of you making him relieve that sound, in a different way of course, you had to roll up your sleeves from the ever-growing heat, pooling at your neck and your lower stomach. You reached for your neck in an attempt to flush out some tension, revelling in the feeling of your fluttering pulse as certain images bled into your mind.

Jesus Christ you were horny. One bite into a doughnut, and you were practically begging for a sweet release of your own. 

Luckily, no one caught on to your real feelings, probably thinking you were just a little embarrassed or something.

Once Spencer finally gulped down the entire doughnut, you were encased in another tight squeeze, allowing yourself to relax into it this time, melting into his touch.

“You are honestly the best Y/N. Thank you so much.”

And with that, Spencer left a quick kiss on your heated cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is always appreciated! <3


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